Dry box glove mounting assembly



p 1962 G. M. HALLETT, JR 3,051,963

DRY BOX GLOVE MOUNTING ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 4, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Hill" 2? w/ I v 3 Y '9- 4/7: INVENTOR Q/M H141. 4. E77, 4/5.

I I I I I 4) v i I 2 I BY ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 196 G. M. HALLETT, JR

DRY BOX GLOVE MOUNTING ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 4, 1960 Unite Sttes poration of Ohio Filed Nov. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 67,310 7 Claims. (Cl. 2270) This invention relates to a mounting assembly for securing a glove to a wall of a dry box or sealed container in such a manner that the seal of the container is maintained.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting by means of which a glove which extends into a sealed container can be replaced while maintaining the sealed condition of the container.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a glove mounting assembly through the use of which a secure positive seal can be maintained, by which the changing of gloves is simplified and accomplished more rapidly, which does not require the use of clamps or rings, which will afford a cushioning support for the glove cuff for maximum glove serviceability, which so supports the glove that no part thereof protrudes from the sealed container, which provides maximum comfort tothe user with extended inward reach, and which can be economically manufactured and economically maintained.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view looking toward the outer side of a portion of a wall of a dry box or sealed container, showing the glove mounting assembly applied thereto;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 22 of FIGURE 1, with the glove shown broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional View of a part of the glove mounting assembly, showing an initial step in the application of a glove thereto;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing a different position of the parts and in which the glove is effectively sealed in the mounting assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 4 showing portions of two glove mounting rings applied to the mounting assembly for effecting replacement of a glove;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded fragmentary sectional view, similar to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, showing the replaced glove and its sealing ring after detachment from the mounting assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary exploded plan view of a peripheral portion of the glove sealing ring and a peripheral portion of the retainer ring;

FIGURE 8 is an exploded sectional view of portions of two of the parts of the glove mounting assembly, on an enlarged scale, to illustrate details thereof, and

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of a wrench utilized with the glove mounting assembly.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the glove mounting assembly in its entirety and comprising the invention is designated generally 10 and includes a port mount, designated generally 11. The port mount 11 includes a relatively wide mounting ring 12 which is internally threaded, as seen at 13, from end-to-end thereof and which has an integral outwardly projecting annular flange 14 at one end thereof which projects from the exterior surface or periphery 15 of the mounting ring 12. Said periphery 15 is circular and is adapted to fit snugly in a circular opening or port 16 formed in a wall 17 of atent a sealed container, not shown. The flange 14 abuts against the outer face of the Wall 17, around the port 16 thereof, so that the ring 12 extends inwardly to a considerable extent from the wall 17. The port mount 11 also includes a securing ring 18 which fits slidably and turnably on the ring periphery 15 and which is disposed against the inner face of the wall 17 around the ring 12. The flange 14 is provided with circumferentially spaced openings '19 to align with circumferentially spaced openings 20 in the wall 17, and the ring 18 has threaded openings or sockets 21 to align with the registering openings 19 and 20. Screw fastenings 22 extend through the registering openings 19 and 26 to threadedly engage the bores or sockets 21 for securing the port mount to the wall 17 and in the opening 16 thereof and to provide a seal between said port mount and the opening 16. The port mount 11, except the fastenings 22, may be formed of metal or of a rigid plastic such as Bakelite.

The glove mounting assembly 10 also includes a glove sealing ring, designated generally 23. The glove sealing ring is of considerable thickness radially, as illustrated in FIGURES 2 to 5, and is formed of a yieldable plastic. The ring 23 has a threaded periphery 24. The depth of the threads 24, as seen in Figure 8, is less than the depth of the internal or female threads 13 of the port mount ring 12. The ring 23 has a toothed forward or leading face 25 and a toothed rear or trailing face 26, as seen in FIGURE 7, the teeth of both of which faces are radially disposed. The rear or trailing face 26 of the ring 23 is additionally provided with four outwardly opening corresponding sockets 27 which are equally spaced circumferentially, and which are elongated radially. The glove sealing ring 23 is provided, intermediate of its end faces 25 and 26, with an annular groove 23 having a restricted mouth 29 which opens through the inner side 30 of the ring. The groove 28 is spaced from the sockets 27.

The ring 23 is formed of a relatively soft, resilient and yieldable plastic. As seen in FIGURE 3, the trailing half 31 thereof is flared outwardly, from the annular groove 28 to the rear face 26, relative to the forward or leading half 32, for expanding the groove 28, particularly the mouth 29 thereof.

The annular bead 33 at the outer end of the cuff 34 I of a long rubber glove, only a part of the cuff 34 of which is shown, is inserted into the groove 28 through its expanded mouth 29, so that the bead 33 extends completely around said groove 28 and an annular portion of the cuff 34, located adjacent the head 33, extends completely around the mouth 29. The rubber glove of which the cuff portion 34 forms a part, is of the type as shown in US. patent application, Serial No. 792,540, filed February 1 1, 1959 by Paul A. Belknap and John J. Keilen, Jr., now US. Patent No. 3,025,403, and which is preferably lead impregnated to afford protection against radiation; however, the glove mounting assembly 10 may be utilized with other types of rubber gloves. Such gloves are usually of a length of approximately thirty inches from the cuff bead 33 to the finger tips, not shown.

Assuming that the cuff bead 33 is engaged in the groove 28, as previously described and as illustrated in FIGURE 3, the glove is inserted inwardly through the port mount 11. The exterior diameter of the forward half 32 of the ring 23 is slightly greater than the internal diameter 13 of the port mount 11 so that when the ring end 32 is threaded into the outer end of the port mount ring 12, the deeper rigid threads 13 will compress the ring 23 so as to deepen the grooves of the threads 24 thereof. The four arm terminals 35 of a spider wrench 36, as seen in FIGURE 9, are engaged in the sockets 27 for threading the sealing ring 23 into the port mount 11. As the ring 23 is advanced inwardly, by manpulation of the Wrench 36, through the port mount ring 12, beyond its position of FIGURE 3 and toward its position of FIG- URE 4, and the threaded portion 24 of the trailing half 31 of the ring 23 is advanced into the rigid port mount ring 12, 'said trailing half 31 will be deflected inwardly, as seen in FIGURE 4, to assume a position in alignment with the forward half 32. This inward flexing of the trailing ring half 31 will restrict the width of the groove 28 and its mouth 29 to arr-extent that the Width of the restricted groove 28, as seen in FIGURE 4, is less than the thickness of the bead 33, so that the bead will be clamped between .the side walls of the groove 28 to provide two seals 37 between the glove cuff 34 and ring 23. Additionally, the mouth 29 will be restricted so that the normal opening thereof will be less than the thickness of the cuff 34, so that the portion of the cuff, disposed in the mouth 29, Will be clamped therein to provide two additional seals 38 between the cufif 34- and ring 23. The sealing ring 23 is advanced by the wrench 36 until its leading end 25 is substantially flush with the inner end 39 of the port mount ring 12, as seen in FIGURE 2. The radially elongated sockets 27 accommodate the wrench terminals 35 when the trailing ring half 31 is flared outwardly, as seen in FIGURE 3, or when it is in alignment with the leading half 32, as seen in FIGURES 2 and 4.

When the sealing ring 23 is disposed, as seen in FIG- URE 2, with the glove cufi 34 clamped and sealed thereto, the glove will extend inwardly from the glove mounting assembly 10, into the sealed container, not shown, a which the wall 17, which is ordinarily transparent, forms a part. Ordinarily, two gloves are mounted by means of two mounting assemblies in two ports or openings 16 of the transparent wall 17 and spaced a convenient distance apart so that the two hands and arms of an operator can be inserted into the two gloves for performing various work and operations within the sealed container or dry box, as is conventional, without risk of injury to the operator due to radiation. The glove mounting assembly may also be utilized in conjunction with bacteriological isolaters.

'The mounting assembly 16 also preferably includes a retainer ring 40 formed of a plastic material having a threaded periphery 41 for loose fitted threaded engagement with the outer part of the threaded ring bore 13. The outer or trailing face 42 of the retainer ring 40 is provided with four equally spaced sockets 43 to receive the wrench terminals 35 for applying and removing the ring '40. The forward or leading face 44 of the ring 40 is flat and smooth and bears against the toothed trailing face 26 of the sealing ring 23 when the retainer i ring 40 is applied. The over-all length of the rings 23 and 40 together is approximately equal to the length of the port mounting ring 12, so that when the rings 23 and 40 are applied, as seen in FIGURE 2, the outer side 42. of the ring 40 will be disposed substantially flush with the outer side of the port mount 11 when the leading face of the ring 23 is disposed approximately flush with the inner end 39 of the port mount. The retaining ring 40 is provided primarily to protect the hand and arm of the operator from being scraped on portions of the threads 13 which would be exposed if said ring 49 was omitted.

If any part of the glove of which the cuff 34 forms a part has been damaged or becomes sufiiciently Worn so that the glove can be no longer safely used, the retaining ring 40 is removed and another glove is inserted through the ring 23 into the cuff 34. The bead 33' of the cult 34' of the new glove is engaged in the channel 28 of another glove sealing ring 23, corresponding to the ring 23 located in the inner part of the threaded bore 13. The second ring 23 is then advanced into the unoccupied rear portion of the bore v13, left vacant by removal of the retaining ring 40, in the same manner as previously described for the ring 23. However, as the ring 23 is advanced inwardly through the threaded bore 13, past the 4% position of the ring 23 as seen in FIGURE 3, the teeth of the toothed leading end 25 will mesh with the toothed trailing end 26 of the ring 23. The yieldability and flexibility of the plastic material of which the rings 23 and 23 are formed will allow the teeth 25' to yield and snap into meshing engagement with the teeth 26. Thereafter, as the ring 23' is turned by the wrench 36 for advancing it inwardly through the port mount 11, the ring 23 will be turned therewith and advanced from its position of FIG- URE 2 inwardly through and past the inner port mount end 39, as seen in FIGURE 5. When the ring 23 reaches a fully applied position with its leading end 25 flush with the port mount inner end 39, the ring 23 will be completely disengaged from the port mount 11 so that the ring 23 and the glove attached thereto will then drop away from and out of engagement with the ring 23 and the glove which is secured and sealed thereto. The thus discarded ring 23 and its attached glove will drop into the bottom of the dry box or sealed container. It will thus be seen that the glove mounting assembly is so constructed that a glove can be readily replaced therein without breaking the seal of the container atforded by the glove and mounting assembly. It will also be apparent that this can be very quickly accomplished and at very little expense since only one of the sealing rings is disposed of by replacement of the defective glove. The retaining ring 4t can be replaced behind the new sealing ring 23, in the same manner as shown in FIGURE 2.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dry box glove mounting assembly comprising a port mount having a ring of substantial length adapted to extend through an opening of a sealed container wall, means for detachably securing the port mount to the wall around the opening thereof and providing a seal between the port mount and wall opening, said port mount ring having an internally threaded bore extending from endto-end thereof, a sealing ring having a threaded periphery sized to threadedly engage in said threaded bore, said sealing ring having a leading end 'face and a trailing end face and being provided with an annular groove disposed between and spaced from said end faces and having a restricted mouth opening inwardly through an inner surface of said sealing ring, said groove being adapted to receive an annular head of a rubber glove cuif, said port mount being formed of a rigid material, and said sealing ring being formed of a yieldable and compressible material and being outwardly flared adjacent is trailing end and relative to its leading end, such that when the sealing ring, with the glove cutf bead contained in the groove thereof, is forcibly threaded into said threaded bore, said sealing ring will be compressed to restrict said groove for pro viding a seal between the sealing ring and the cuff bead and cuff.

2. A glove mounting assembly as in claim 1, the trailing end portion of said sealing ring, disposed between said groove and trailing end face, being flared outwardly relative to the leading end portion of the sealing ring, located between the groove and leading end face for initially expanding said groove to receive the cult bead, the periphery of said trailing portion of the sealing ring being larger than the diameter of said threaded bore whereby .said trailing portion will be deflected inwardly by engagement with the threaded bore for compressing the ring to restrict the groove thereof.

3. A glove mounting assembly as in claim 1, said seal ing ring in a fully applied position occupying the forward portion of said threaded bore, and an externally threaded retaining ring threadedly engaging in said threaded bore outwardly of said sealing ring and occupying a rear portion thereof.

4. A glove mounting assembly as in claim 1, a second sealing ring having an annular inwardly opening groove adapted to receive a second rubber glove cuff bead, and means for intermeshing the leading end of said second ring with the trailing end of said first mentioned ring for causing the rings to rotate in unison when said second ring is threaded into said threaded bore behind said first mentioned ring for advancing the first mentioned ring through the threaded bore to disengage the first mentioned ring from the port mount and said second ring for discharge by gravity of the first mentioned ring with the glove cuil bead secured thereto from the inner end of the port mount.

5. A glove mounting assembly as in claim 1, the trailing end of said sealing ring having circumferentially spaced outwardly opening tool receiving sockets.

6. A glove mounting assembly as in claim 1, the depth of the threads of the sealing ring periphery being less than the depth of the threads of said threaded bore whereby the grooves of the threaded periphery are enlarged and increased in depth by engagement with the threads of said bore to cause compression of the sealing ring and tight sealing engagement between the sealing ring and port mount.

7. A dry box glove mounting assembly comprising an annular port mount adapted to be secured to a portion of a sealed container wall and to extend through an opening thereof, said port mount defining a bore having open ends opening on opposite sides of said Wall portion, and a sealing ring having an annular inwardly opening groove in which an annular rubber glove cuff bead is adapted to be detachably received, said sealing ring being formed of a yieldable and compressible material and being of a size and shape such that when the sealing ring is forcibly advanced into said port mount bore said sealing ring is compressed and flexed for restricting the groove thereof for clamping and sealing the glove bead therein.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,742,793 Staples Jan. 7, 1930 1,762,721 Klingner June 10, 1930 2,460,851 Sheppard Feb. 8, 1949 2,842,773 Trexler July 15, 1958 2,876,453 Flagg et a1. Mar. 10, 1959 2,911,237 Olson Nov. 3, 1959 

